Voting behaviour: other factors

Question 1

other factors

Answer 1

Party policy proposals

Party leader

Party governing competency

Election campaign

Question 2

party policies

Answer 2

voters look at the policies that parties promise, and vote for whichever party’s policies most appeal to them. Before each election all parties publish their policy promises in a manifesto “We will abolish university
tuition fees” - lab
“We will introduce a points-based
immigration system” - tory
get brexit done
“We will renationalise the
railways” - lab

Question 3

party policies failing

Answer 3

Sometimes a policy promise backfires
Theresa May ditched manifesto plan with demantia tax U-turn after promising to reform the social care system
And making promises you cannot keep can backfire too…
But in general, promising policies that appeal to voters will
attract more votes for a party

Question 4

2017 conservative battle bus

Answer 4

THERESA MAY FOR BRITAIN - in large fonts, conservatives tiny

Question 5

leaders personalites

Answer 5

Leaders are the public ‘face’ of their party. A leader that is
personally trusted, liked or respected by voters can help his or
her party greatly. - cameron v brown 2010- brown was blamed for the 2008 recession, tony blair - 93% after his princess speech vs major 97 - In 2019, although Boris Johnson had an approval rating of 40% he was the better of the two compared to theresa may who was at 30% and Jeremy Corbyn who was at 20% - you gov survey
Elections are more and more about the personality of the
leader, and less about the party as a whole. This is called the
‘personalisation of elections’. Less about issues and
policies, more about personality.

Question 6

Party governing competency

Answer 6

The image of the party as a whole also matters. Political parties make promises in their manifesto, which voters or may not like. But do voters believe the party will actually deliver on those promises?
And do voters believe a party will manage the day-to-day running of the country well?
Basically, do voters trust the party to do a good job in government?
This is called the ‘governing competency’ of the party. The perceived ability of a party to manage the government
Do voters believe a party as a whole (not just the leader) is competent at running the country. If so, they are more likely to
vote for that party. Voters may have
perceptions of which party they think is
most competent in general, or on specific key issues the party trusted the most to handle the economy usualy wins - main issues in 2019, including the top one, Brexit, and the economy (always important44% v 20%), apart from the
NHS (where Labour was more trusted 40% v 28%).

Question 7

The election campaign

Answer 7

The way a party runs their campaign can make or break them.
Parties need to convince voters to vote for them: the party that
does that best, has a better chance of picking up votes. Effective advertising
that catches the
‘mood’ of the
electorate works - get brexit done conservatives 2019

Question 8

debates - part of election campaign

Answer 8

In 2010 for the first time in the UK: 3 televised debates between party leaders.
Performance in those debates can greatly help the party, and become a key element of the campaign. 2017: - 7 party leaders
- Absence of Theresa May - which led to her eventual confidence and supply deal with the DUP due to a minority government
While Theresa May’s absence at the televised debate was a notable aspect of the campaign, it should be viewed as one among several factors that contributed to her failure. - The 2017 election saw an increase in voter turnout, particularly among younger voters. This shift in voter behavior and engagement played a role in shaping the election outcome. - turnout was 54%

Question 9

problems with debates

Answer 9

The election campaign can change a lot of voters’ opinions in
just a few weeks.

A good example is 2017, when the Conservative lost a very
large lead in the opinion polls, to end up with a minority
government.

However, some events of the campaign that get lots of
attention, like the televised debates, often do not change
people’s opinions massively.
In 2019 not much changed during the election campaign; at
least not between the Conservatives and Labour. The only thing
that changed was a decrease of the Liberal Democrats and the
collapse of the Brexit Party